Draft Notebook From Opening Weekend

College baseball kicked off this weekend, and Baseball America had eyes on some key series, as well as sources around the country. This week’s draft report provides a closer look at the players that I saw in person, and sheds some light on the top players around the nation.

Duke vs. California: 2/19-2/21

Duke’s Bailey Clark and Cal’s Daulton Jefferies dueled on Opening Day. Jefferies got the win, but Clark showed off an elite fastball and showed some promising command. For a more in-depth breakdown, check out the game report from Friday night.

Cal center fielder Aaron Knapp made hard contact all weekend, showing off strength in his lefthanded bat. Knapp has a compact, contact-oriented swing. There isn’t much pre-pitch movement to his swing, and he doesn’t have a ton of power, but everything came off his bat with authority this weekend. Knapp showed 70-grade speed on the 20-80 scouting scale, consistently reaching first base in four seconds or less. His pure foot speed and contact skills could give him the chance to play center field and hit towards the top of a lineup. Knapp is the younger brother of Phillies prospect Andrew Knapp.

On Sunday, Brian McAfee gave the Blue Devils seven strong innings. McAfee is a graduate student at Duke; he was previously a rotation cog for Cornell, and a medical redshirt year gave him an extra year of eligibility. His stuff isn’t overwhelming, but the sum of his parts should earn him a chance to play professionally beyond this season.

McAfee showed solid command of his fastball, which sat at 88-90 mph and touched 91. The fastball showed late sink as he pounded it down in the strike zone, getting swings and misses away from lefthanded batters. His best pitch was his curveball, a tight-spinning three-quarter breaking ball that missed bats as he pounded the back foot of lefty hitters. McAfee also showed a slider, which had more horizontal shape and found barrels throughout the outing. His changeup also has potential, with fade and movement that mimics his fastball, though he used the pitch sparingly.

The following players also showed intriguing tools:

• James Ziemba, lhp, RS Soph., Duke: A 6-foot-10 southpaw who throws from a low three-quarters arm slot, Ziemba has a chance to be a later-round pick this spring. Ziemba’s fastball sat in the upper 80s and touched 90, showing late sinking action. His slider backed up when he threw it to his arm side, but showed 2-to-8 sweep when he threw it to his glove side.

• Nick Halamandaris, 1b, Sr., Cal: Halamandaris has not performed well in his first three years at Cal, but his offensive tools are undeniable. He showed off a promising combination of bat speed and power, and went 6-for-13 on the weekend. Against Bailey Clark, Halandaris smacked a 98-mph fastball off the wall in left field. He hit the ball hard all weekend.

• Ryan Mason, rhp, Sr., Cal: Cal’s Saturday starter threw from a low three-quarters slow that gave his fastball late sink. He generated downhill plane from his 6-foot-6 frame, and his heater bumped 91 early on. He showed some promise with his fading changeup, with good feel for the pitch down and to his arm side. Mason’s velocity sat at 86-89 by his third inning. He could be a senior sign if he can show improved stamina later in the season.

• Jalen Phillips, 1b, RS Jr., Duke: Phillips’ weekend wasn’t exceptional, but he made an impact on the series with a towering three-run blast on Sunday that landed about 10 rows into the right center field power alley. Phillips showed smooth glove work and feet at first base, and he showed near-average speed, reaching first base in just under 4.3 seconds on a ground ball.

Elon vs. Wright State: 2/20

Baseball America had eyes on the Saturday night matchup between the Raiders and the Phoenix. I arrived in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the doubleheader, in time to see Wright State catcher Sean Murphy impress behind the plate. Murphy sets a low target, with his behind just millimeters off the ground. Murphy has a thick, muscular build and surprising athleticism to complement it. He blocked a couple pitches in the dirt, showing natural ability to keep the ball in front of him.

On the weekend, Murphy went just 3-for-15, but he swatted two home runs and a triple. On Saturday night, Murphy was the designated hitter and went 0-for-4, but he still showed off promising strength. Here’s how Murphy fared in those four plate appearances:

• PA1: Got underneath a 12-to-6 curveball and lifted it with high trajectory to the warning track in left field.

• PA2: Struck out swinging, taking an off-balance swing and swinging over a pitch down and away.

• PA3: Got a breaking ball down and in, and hit a groundball to third base. Reached first base in 4.5 seconds. Safe on an error, advanced to second.

• PA4: Hammered a sharp fly to the right field warning track.

Murphy’s offensive game has some holes, but it was encouraging to see him try to attack pitches on the outer half, especially after a pull-happy summer in the Cape Cod league last summer.

Murphy stays very compact on pitches on the inner half, and can generate impressive power without much in the way of a load or pre-pitch theatrics. His raw power isn’t really the question this spring, though, as he’ll have to prove that he can cover the plate well enough for that power to play.

His defensive tools and power potential could put him in play in the early rounds of this year’s draft.

Murphy was easily the top prospect at Elon this weekend, but some other players showed potential as well:

• Robby Sexton, lhp, RS Jr., Wright State: Sexton got the start for the Raiders and struck out six batters over three innings in his return from Tommy John surgery. Sexton showed intriguing athleticism and command of a sinking fastball, which sat at 87-89. Sexton’s slider showed short and late break, with no clear breaking point, and it dodged Elon bats.

• Gabe Snyder, 1b, RS Soph., Wright State: Snyder showed excellent strength and bat speed from the left side of the plate. He went 5-for-17 with two home runs and nine RBIs on the weekend. On Saturday, Snyder hit an opposite field home run and had a pair of hard popups with hang times longer than seven seconds.

• Nick Zammarelli, 3b, Jr., Elon: Zammarelli, a teammate of Murphy’s on the Cape last summer, has a quick righthanded bat. He went 6-for-18 this weekend, and hit a rope to the right field corner for a double on Saturday night.

NC State vs. Morehead State: 2/23

Junior righthander Cory Wilder got the start for N.C. State, and he allowed three runs on four hits and one walk in four innings. Wilder did not strike out any batters. He worked down in the zone, with his fastball sitting at 88-91 and touching as high as 93.

Wilder’s arm includes an abbreviated arm circle, a plunge towards his back hip, and an across-body finish, though there isn’t violence in the way his arm recoils off of his chest. He starts with a leg lift and bounces into his stride, landing stable and online. His kinetic chain was sometimes disconnected, with his timing and tempo varying, and his core not consistently getting over his front side. Wilder also short-arms his slider, potentially tipping the pitch.

His slider was a bit slow out of his hand, and Morehead State hitters were able to track its break into their bats. He also threw a curveball, which showed depth but looped upward out of his hand.

N.C. State’s top prospect is junior catcher Andrew Knizner, who was in the lineup as a designated hitter on Tuesday. Here’s how Knizner’s day unfolded:

• PA1: Walked. No swings.

• PA2: Watched his way into a 1-2 count, then pulled a down-and-in breaking ball hard on the ground through the left side of the infield for a base hit.

• PA3: After swinging and missing at a breaking ball early in the count, Knizner hit a high-trajectory fly down the right field line, which landed for a bloop single.

• PA4: Knizner worked the count full, spoiled a close pitch, then swung and missed at a pitch down in the zone for a strikeout.

• PA5: Groundball to shortstop.

Wolfpack junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro also took some impressive swings, showing the ability to extend through the ball well. He swung-and-missed at an 85-mph fastball on the outer half to start one at bat, but otherwise showed sound contact skills. He went 2-for-5 in the game.